Private Tours in Lisbon

[BULLOCK]

Has anyone use the private tour services of "tours for you" or "Lisbon Tours" while in Lisbon. We arrive at 12 noon on Nov 2 and disembark early the following day to fly back home... We hope to take in a half day tour and see as much as possible in such a short time and could use a little help in choosing the right company.

 

If there are others companies that you have used and were satisfied with I would appreciate any contact info that you may have.

 

Maybe you could share some of your 1/2 tours with us. Things not to be missed.

 

Neil

[ClaudiaF]

Has anyone use the private tour services of "tours for you" or "Lisbon Tours" while in Lisbon. We arrive at 12 noon on Nov 2 and disembark early the following day to fly back home... We hope to take in a half day tour and see as much as possible in such a short time and could use a little help in choosing the right company.

 

If there are others companies that you have used and were satisfied with I would appreciate any contact info that you may have.

 

Maybe you could share some of your 1/2 tours with us. Things not to be missed.

 

Neil

 

We used them (tours for you) and they are great and have referred them to many people who always say the same.

Not to miss spots..

Sintra and Queluz. Of course the tour of Lisbon too.

We went to Fatima with a ship tour once. Interesting to say the least.

[BULLOCK]

Thanks for your info, The two tours that you listed was the ones that I was looking at. I figured if we did the Sintra tour we would be back in the early evening and could walk around and see a few of the sights downtown.

 

Gives us a good reason to head back over to visit a second time.

 

Neil

[ClaudiaF]

Thanks for your info, The two tours that you listed was the ones that I was looking at. I figured if we did the Sintra tour we would be back in the early evening and could walk around and see a few of the sights downtown.

 

Gives us a good reason to head back over to visit a second time.

 

Neil

 

Neil,

You might also want to take the hop on hop off bus for your touring in Lisbon ( city).. you can stay on for the complete tour..and then hop on and off to see the sights. Being a hop-on-hop-off bus service, the length of the tour can be self-determined and the ticket is valid for the whole day. The tour costs €13

They have a website that might help you in planning ;-)

Have fun!

http://www.cityline-sightline.pt/

[Placerville]

We had our concierge arrange a private tour (just us) in a Mercedes with an English-speaking driver at a cost of $150 euros, which was charged to our room. Two things not to miss are: The castle AND the Carriage museum! One thing nice is that you can stay as short or, as long as you like in any spot.

Dave

[BULLOCK]

Thanks for the tips on the places not to miss. If I get a few more tips, a private tour may be the way to go. I like the idea of being able to stay as long as we like at one place over another. Trying to fit all the great places in one afternoon is impossible.

 

I will look over the hop on / off bus. We did this in a visit to San Diego and enjoyed it

 

Neil

[Lynda S]

Last March we found a great taxi-cab driver who also does private tours at the dock right in front of our ship. He was explaining to us that only cab drivers who speak fluent English, know the city and the history can apply to sit at the dock when the cruise ships come in, so you are assured of a good driver who can give you a good tour - his company was Lisbon Taxi and Tour Services. They have to pay a fee for this liscence. They all have standard packages that they will show you on a glossy card, with prices imprinted so that you also know you are getting a standard deal - this is a price for the cab and it's virtually up to you how many people get in, up to the max of the seatbelts of course. We did 4 and we were very comfortable - the cab was a Mercedes - which is usually what they will drive there.

We found the cab route a great way to go, this driver in particular spoke PERFECT English, he went to high school in New York state somewhere, or perhaps it could have been college. He was super friendly, very informed on his history (and as I research all our destinations thouroughy I can vouch for the truth in his narratives), and gave us a superb tour. I'd hire him again in a heartbeat, and if you would like to go this route, let me know as I have his card which includes an e-mail address.

As for what we did - what a great city Lisbon is. We were a little late starting out - we had been told to take the shuttle bus to the center of town and get a cab from there as it would cheaper and that little bit of mis-information cost us 1 1/2 hrs. We took what we thought was the shuttle to town, but it ended up to be the shuttle to the other side of the dock (the street side), where the trolley buses came past. Well, we couldn't figure out which trolley to take, and there was no one around, so we tried to hail a cab - that was a huge mistake. The traffic goes past quite fast, only one stopped and he didn't speak a word of English, he ended up shrugging his shoulders and moving on. Finally we took the same shuttle back (free - for dock workers I will bet) to the dock side in front of our ship and then we found Jorge, the cab driver I mentioned.

For 170 Euros (there was four of us, so 42.50 each) we got a wonderful un-touristy day. We missed the busload of crowds each place we went - Jorge seemed to know when not to go to each sight. We first toured some of Lisbon highlights - Belem Tower, Monument of Discovery and then headed out along the coast to Esteoril (to see the Casino), Cascais (to see the 'Inferno' on the sea and the fort), Guincho (surf beach) and ended up on the most westerly point of Europe at Cabo da Rocha (sorry if I am not spelling these all correctly - doing it from my head) for a wonderful lunch (cost was 20.00 Euros, I had a hamburger/fries; husband had a seafood dish). Then through the forest (that was my FAVORITE part - it was so neat, Red Riding Hood kept going thru my mind) to Sintra, a not-to-be-missed town. We wandered around there on foot for a short bit, but couldn't stay as long as we would have liked to as time was short due to our little confusion in the morning and there was still plenty to see.

We drove the inland-freeway route (quicker) back to Lisbon and saw some of the highlights downtown, and then he let us out to explore St. George's Castle at the top of the Alfama district. Going down those streets was quite the experience - I would have loved to have walked down had there been more time. On to a few more sights, then a special stop at a grocery store (my husband likes to try a beer from each country we are in) and then back to the ship for supper - it was a very memorable day.

In brief - don't miss Sintra and the Alfama district!

[BULLOCK]

Could you please forward me Jorge's info. Your trip sounds exactly what we are looking for. I had one of the private tour companies lined up but they may not be able to accommodate us. They are trying to move around another group and may be over booked. I would like to have a back up plan if possible. Please email the info to neilbullock@rogers.com Thanks for sharing your trip with me.

 

Neil